In Orr of his short game

03 Feb 17

The years Steven Orr and Dr Rob Neal have spent perfecting the short game are set to culminate in a series of lectures when they reveal the recipe for a perfect chip.

Orr, a PGA Master Professional based in west London, has focused on strike location on the club face. Meanwhile Neal, the renowned biomechanics guru who lives in Florida, has spent years collating movement data using some of the world’s leading short game exponents.

With their very different approaches to the subject, the two experts will shed new light on the short game art during lectures at The Belfry and Eastwood Golf Club in Glasgow.

The latter will host the first event and Orr said: “There has been a great deal of interest in the two dates we have announced.

“The first date in Scotland is a sell out and the next presentation, at The Belfry, is proving very popular. But we are intending to hold more seminars when Rob is back in the country later in the year.”

Neal’s expertise in the movement aspect of the short game has been developed over many months logging launch data and 3D information from working with top US PGA Tour pros.

Orr has focused his research on strike location on the club face and how that can affect control of distance as well as how varying impact factors can affect distance and control.

“There is a growing interest in the short game and we hope this research will help both players and coaches,” Orr said. “And where ever Rob goes there is always interest.”

The two have known each other since Orr, as a young teaching professional eager to learn more, would fire emails off to Neal, tapping into his expertise.

As the friendship grew, Orr invited Neal to coach the Sussex county squad and followed that by organising twice yearly masterclasses with him opening up areas like sequencing, generating power and ground reaction forces.

“Rob’s seminars are always fascinating and there is always a huge demand,” explained Orr, who is also a PGA tutor and England regional coach.

“One of Rob’s key skills is dealing with very complicated concepts and making them simple to understand. It is great to be able to put our different research into the subject together.”